4 days ago
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Columbia Heights leaders are set to remove the city’s Flock cameras as privacy concerns outweigh law enforcement support for the tool. The cameras are used to scan license plates.
The Columbia Heights City Council was set to vote on the cameras after community concerns about privacy and immigration enforcement were raised. Law enforcement said the cameras help solve crime, but city leaders said residents raised concerns about who could access the data.
“I feel like it’s important for our community members to all feel safe without a sense of constant surveillance,” Dee Brust said.
Brust lives near a Flock camera at 49th and Johnson Street in Columbia Heights. Public testimony at a town hall in May included questions for police about whether camera information could be shared with the federal government for immigration enforcement.
